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International Mother Language Day: Why the Hungarian language is one of Europe’s most unique treasures
Every year on 21 February, the world celebrates International Mother Language Day, an initiative launched by UNESCO to promote linguistic diversity and protect endangered languages. While thousands of languages are spoken across the globe, few are as distinctive – or as intriguing to outsiders – as Hungarian.
For visitors and expats in Hungary, Hungarian can sound completely unfamiliar at first. Unlike most European tongues, it does not resemble German, Slavic or Romance languages. That is because Hungarian belongs to an entirely different linguistic family, making it one of the continent’s true outliers.
Not Indo-European – and proud of it
Hungarian (magyar) is part of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family, meaning it is more closely related to Finnish and Estonian than to the languages of neighbouring countries. This explains why even basic words differ so dramatically.
While “water” is Wasser in German and víz in Hungarian, and “thank you” becomes köszönöm rather than anything recognisable to Indo-European speakers, these differences reflect a long and independent linguistic history dating back over a thousand years.
Hungarian tribes brought the language to the Carpathian Basin in the late 9th century, and despite centuries of foreign rule and cultural pressure, the language survived and flourished.
A grammar that surprises newcomers
Many learners describe Hungarian as challenging but also logical.
Instead of prepositions, Hungarian uses suffixes attached to words. For example:
- Budapest → Budapesten (in Budapest)
- ház (house) → házban (in the house)
This agglutinative structure means that long words can express what would require entire phrases in English.
Hungarian also has:
- no grammatical gender
- flexible word order
- around 18 cases
- extensive vowel harmony rules
At first glance, it may seem complex, yet many learners find its consistency refreshing once they understand the system.
A language of creativity
Hungarian is famously expressive. Speakers often create new words through playful compounds and suffixes, giving the language a poetic quality. It is also rich in idioms that can sound amusing when translated literally.
The language has inspired generations of writers and poets, including national icon Sándor Petőfi, whose works played a key role in the 1848 revolution and remain central to Hungarian identity today.
How many people speak Hungarian?
Around 13–15 million people speak Hungarian worldwide. Most live in Hungary, but sizeable communities also exist in neighbouring countries due to historical border changes.
In cities such as Budapest, English is widely spoken, especially among younger generations. However, locals deeply appreciate it when foreigners attempt even a few Hungarian words. Simple phrases like szia (hello), köszönöm (thank you) or egészségedre (cheers) can go a long way.
A language worth celebrating
International Mother Language Day reminds us that languages are more than communication tools: they carry history, culture and identity. Hungarian’s survival through centuries of political and social change is a testament to the resilience of its speakers.
For travellers and expats, learning even the basics offers more than practical benefits: it opens a window into the country’s humour, traditions and way of thinking.
On this day, there may be no better time to try your first Hungarian sentence.
Boldog anyanyelvi napot! – Happy Mother Language Day!
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